Socioeconomic Status and Number of Children Among Korean Women: The Healthy Twin Study.
- Author:
Jinseob KIM
1
;
Joohon SUNG
Author Information
1. Preventive Medicine Program, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. jsung@snu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Fertility;
Family;
Social class
- MeSH:
Adult;
Aged;
Alcohol Drinking;
Asian Continental Ancestry Group;
*Birth Rate;
Child;
Cohort Studies;
Family Relations;
Female;
Humans;
Income;
Middle Aged;
Occupations;
Regression Analysis;
Republic of Korea;
Smoking;
Socioeconomic Factors;
Twins;
Women/*psychology
- From:Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
2013;46(1):50-60
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate whether the birth rate is associated with socioeconomic status in the women of the Republic of Korea, where the birth rate is rapidly decreasing. METHODS: This study included 732 females from the Healthy Twin Study, a family-twin cohort. The participants were classified into 3 socioeconomic groups according to their average income, education, and occupation. The association between socioeconomic status and number of children was assessed using gamma regression analysis with a generalized linear mixed model, adjusting for the age group, smoking/alcohol status, and family relationships. RESULTS: The group with the highest education level had significantly fewer children compared with the group with the lowest education level (p=0.004). However, no significant associations were found according to household income level. The non-manual labor group had significantly fewer children compared with those working as homemakers (p=0.008). CONCLUSIONS: This study aimed to explain the causal relationship between socioeconomic status and number of children. Associations between some socioeconomic status and number of children were found in Korea.
